Hightech Light Speed Center Corners Massive 1st Ecompany Lease

By Marilyn Bowden
Light Speed Center at Beacon TradePort, a high-tech business park under construction in Airport West, has landed Exodus Communications as its first tenant.

"This is a very exciting time for South Florida and for Light Speed Infrastructure," says Michael J. Swerdlow, chairman and CEO. Light Speed Infrastructure is a subsidiary of Light Speed Capital, he said, a company controlled by Swerdlow Group.

"Exodus is the premier web-host in the nation. It’s quite a statement that they choose South Florida for a major facility."

He said the company has leased 370,000 square feet in two phases.

Phase one, a 140,000-square-foot building now under construction, is expected to be finished by year’s end.

William H. Holly, managing director of Insignia ESG, represented Exodus in the transaction, which he calls the largest to date in Miami-Dade.

"This reaffirms Miami as the premier, tier-one market for high-tech in Florida," he said. "It catapults the Airport-West Dade market into the preferred location for telecommunications providers for Miami and the Americas."

Light Speed Center at Beacon TradePort will be home to more than 2 million square feet of space on more than 100 acres specifically designed to meet the requirements of high-tech tenants.

Project Developer Jeff Williamson, vice president of Codina Development Corp., said the Light Speed buildings will be constructed to withstand a Category 5 hurricane. Category 2 is the standard for industrial facilities.

Other amenities, he said, include multiple fiber-optic providers, dual power feeds, automatic throw-overs for power reliability, dedicated substations, heightened security and sprinkler systems that require more than one cue to activate.

The Codina Group builds, manages and leases the 374-acre business park.

Light Speed Infrastructure, headquartered in Hollywood, is presently developing a number of similar projects, including Light Speed Miami Center at 3301 Coral Way and Light Speed Broward in Ft. Lauderdale’s Cypress Creek business park.